Berkeley, California

One of the top schools in the country, the University of California’s Berkeley campus is renowned throughout the world. A degree from Berkeley opens many doors that a degree from most state schools wouldn’t.

That is precisely why Min Li Ng chose the school. Fortunately for her, her past criminal activities were virtually unknown. Her actions as a member of the Forces of Nature and later, the Folding Circle, were never connected to her real name. And having the ability to transform into a being of fire made it difficult for identification purposes.

Min Li walked up the six flights of stairs to her apartment. She lived alone in an apartment just on the edge of campus. It gave her a relatively isolated lifestyle, which she preferred.

When she opened the door to her room, she gasped in shock. A man with dark skin, bald head and a goatee stood in front of Min Li’s desk, looking through various papers she had on there. He wore a trench coat and looked up at Min Li. Where there should have been white in his eyes was just pitch-black and his pupils were a glowing red.

"Hello Min Li," he said with a grin.

"Casseas," she said. "But you died."

"I got better," said Casseas. "I see you’ve moved up from your days as Silk Fever."

"We all have to grow up sometime," said Min Li. "What do you want?"

Diego Casseas took a seat in the chair by Min Li’s desk and linked his fingers behind his head. "I’m sure you’ve no doubt heard about the death of the Kingpin in New York."

"Not really, no."

"Well, looks like he was taken out by someone within his organization, and it’s left a void at the top of the food chain."

"What does any of this have to do with me?" asked Min Li.

"I want the Folding Circle to fill that void, and I want Silk Fever by my side."

"I’ve retired," said Min Li. "I’ve made a good life for myself since those days. Gone back to school, working towards a normal life."

"A mundane life isn’t for you, Min Li," said Casseas. "You burn too brightly for that."

"Who else have you recruited?" she asked.

"So far, just Bloodstrike. I still need to reach Smiling Tiger and Midnight’s Fire."

"No games like last time?" asked Min Li.

"Just the five of us working together to expand on our profits," said Casseas. "The way I see it, having five superpowered beings running things makes it harder to depose us than it is to get rid of one human."

"Okay, I’m in."

SHIELD Helicarrier

Carmilla Black walked through the corridors of the SHIELD Helicarrier, following Dum-Dum Dugan. As SHIELD’s special operative codenamed Scorpion, Carmilla was still relatively new to the world of espionage. She was dressed in her emerald bodysuit, but the facemask hung around her neck. Dugan was wearing a standard-issue blue and white SHIELD uniform.

They came to a pair of doors with the SHIELD logo on it and they opened automatically. Beyond the doors stood another SHIELD agent with short, dark hair. He turned to face them once they approached.

"Scorpion, meet Jack Truman, Agent 18," said Dugan.

"So you’re part of this new superhuman initiative," said Truman. Carmilla nodded.

"Got any beads on the Trinity?" asked Dugan.

"Nothing yet, but I looked into these New Warriors you mentioned," said Truman. "They’ve got some members of the previous incarnation running with them, so that means they’re connected to guys we know. I’m sure Taylor has some info on them we could use."

"What about their old base?" asked Dugan.

"The Crash Pad. There have been sightings of these kids in that general vicinity, so it’s safe to assume they’re using it," said Truman. "In regards to this Machine Teen you mentioned, we have footage of some of the battles the Warriors have been engaged in. He’s present in most of them."

"What intel do we have on the kid?" asked Dugan.

"He definitely seems to be an improvement on the X-51 model," said Truman. "Looks like it might be the prototype that went missing several years back."

"Good, keep me posted," said Dugan. He turned to the Scorpion. "I want you to go to the Crash Pad, have a chat with the Warriors and the Machine Teen. If the Trinity is after him, he should be ready for them."

Empire State University

Johnny Gallo sat in the student union of ESU, absent-mindedly tapping his pencil against the book he was trying to read. He had been trying to read the same page for about the past half hour. No matter how hard he tried, economics just wasn’t something he had the drive to study at the moment, despite the fact he had a test coming up shortly.

He closed the book and reached for the bottle of Dr. Pepper that sat on the table. As he took a sip from it, his eyes caught sight of a new arrival in the union. It was a young woman with lavender skin and short, burgundy hair, with facial markings and eyes that lacked pupils. He recognized her immediately as the mutant who helped him in his fight with Bushwacker.

Instead of saying anything, he chose to open the econ book again and try to study. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself. If he kept staring at her, he might make her think he was a mutant phobe or something. He knew he certainly wouldn’t want people staring at him if they knew he was a mutant.

He focused his eyes on the book, again continuing to read the same page over and over again. He heard footsteps approaching, but tried to tune them out. That’s when he heard her voice.

"Do I know you?" she asked.

Johnny looked up from the book and glanced at her. He turned his head from side to side and then pointed at himself.

"You mean me?"

"Yeah," she said. "You look really familiar…"

"Oh… I dunno, I don’t think so," said Johnny. "Unless you’re taking a class with me or something."

"No, that’s not it, I just transferred," she said. Her eyes went wide and a slight smile played upon her lips. "Wait, I know.

"You do…?"

She sat in the seat across from him and leaned close so only he could hear her words. "You were the one from the exhibit, right? The guy in the mask and the jacket."

"Umm… I dunno what you’re talking about."

"Oh c’mon, that hair isn’t what you see every day," she said.

Johnny blushed and ran a hand through his platinum blond hair.

"Well, it’s not like you’re trying to hide who you are," he said. "At least I have some kind of disguise."

"I don’t mind," she said.

"So… Blink, right?"

"Right," she said. "Well, no… call me Clarice."

"Clarice, huh?"

"Yeah. What’s your name?"

"Johnny."

"I hope you don’t mind me coming up to you like this," said Clarice. "It’s just… this is kind of embarrassing…"

"What?"

"Well, I just enrolled here and I don’t really know anyone," she said. "At least, no one I have a lot in common with."

"Why do you think you have things in common with me?" asked Johnny.

"Well… you’re a superhero, right?" asked Clarice.

"Sort of," said Johnny.

"Me too. Sort of."

"So you’re looking for more superheroes to hang out with, huh?"

"I don’t wanna make it sound like that, but… I guess… maybe," said Clarice. She started to blush. "Sorry, I’m not really good at socializing. I was always really shy."

"You’re doing pretty good so far," said Johnny.

"That’s good to kn—"

Clarice was cut off by the sound of the theme song from Ghostbusters. She stopped and looked at Johnny, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cell phone. One he (and all the Warriors) had been given by Taylor.

"Hello?"

{{ This is Taylor. Get to the Crash Pad, we have a situation. }}

There was a click as Taylor hung up. Johnny closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Something wrong?" asked Clarice.

"Something’s come up, I gotta run," he said. "Sorry."

"Oh, it’s okay," said Clarice. "It was nice talking to you."

"Yeah, same here," he said. He put his book into his bag and grabbed his drink before running towards the exit of the student union. Once he went out the doors, he almost ran into a young woman with long, brown hair who was also running in the same direction.

"Watch where you’re going!" she said. She took another look at him and smiled. "Well, isn’t this interesting? Fancy seeing you here, Rico."

"Who are--?" he began, but then stopped once he realized who she was. "Oh great… Joystick. I take it you were going to the Crash Pad, too?"

"Just got the signal," she said. "Any idea what it’s about?"

"Not a clue."

"Maybe we shouldn’t keep Taylor waiting, then."

The Crash Pad

Ricochet and Joystick arrived at the Crash Pad simultaneously, as did Spider-Woman and Gravity. When the four of them had arrived, Patriot, Speedball and Rage were already waiting, with Dwayne and Eddie. There was also a young woman in a skintight dark emerald bodysuit with green hair.

"What's going on?" asked Ricochet. He looked at the woman. "Are we getting a new member?"

"This is Scorpion, she's with SHIELD," said Dwayne. "Where's Machine Teen?" The Warriors all tossed curious glances back and forth.

"What's happening concerns him," said Scorpion. "Can you try contacting him again?"

"I'll see what I can do," said Eddie. He moved over to the computer console and sent out a signal to Machine Teen's phone. Static was the only response he received, however. He looked at Scorpion and then at Dwayne. "Not getting anything."

"How about bringing the rest of us up to speed for now?" asked Gravity.

"Right," said Scorpion. "For the past few months, SHIELD's been tracking a group of three thieves. They call themselves the Iron Trinity. Each of them has a suit of armor based on Iron Man's, although not as advanced. They typically focus on heists involving high-end technology. Recently they stole the Machine Man... or kidnapped, depending on how you look at it."

"She thinks Machine Teen may be their next target," said Dwayne.

"Why's that? They just pissed because Best Buy was sold out of the new Xbox?" asked Ricochet.

"Machine Teen bears a very strong resemblence to a prototype robot that was in development for SHIELD, a prototype that went missing some years ago," said Scorpion. "It was reported destroyed, but then this guy pops up. We think the Iron Trinity is after Machine Teen because of this."

"So how's the Machine Man connected?" asked Joystick.

"The X-51 model was the basis for this prototype," said Scorpion.

"There's something you're not telling us," said Spider-Woman.

"I'm sorry?" asked Scorpion.

"I said there's something you're not telling us," said Spider-Woman once again. "You're not lying, but you're not telling the whole truth. So c'mon, Scorpion—what are you hiding?"

"Any other information I have is classified and on a need-to-know basis. And right now, you don't need to know," said Scorpion. She gritted her teeth momentarily, but then her face returned to normal. "Oh, and don't try to read my mind again. I have mental blocks in place to keep psychics far more powerful than you out of my head."

Spider-Woman scoffed and made a face.

"Try reaching him again," said Scorpion. "It's very important that we get to him before the Iron Trinity does."

Steel-Fist sent another charge of electricity through the body of Nina Aaronson. Her husband, Steve, tried to move towards her, but he was held in place by Killdozer. Heavy Metal Jacket leaned against the wall and smiled beneath his helmet.

"Y'know Aaronson, I'm getting very sick of this game," he said. "Let's go over the facts, okay? A few years ago, you were working on developing a prototype robot based on Able Stack's X-51 model, right? Work you were doing freelance for SHIELD. And then one day, the prototype vanishes, reported destroyed. Am I getting warm?"

"Please don't hurt my wife..." said Steve.

"You're not listening, Aaronson," said Killdozer, lightly squeezing Steve's shoulder, but sending tremendous pain through the man's body.

"We just want the prototype," said Heavy Metal Jacket. "We know you have it, so why don't you just give it to us?"

"I don't," said Steve. "It was really destroyed, I swear."

The sound of the lock turning and the front door opening rang through. Heavy Metal Jacket moved towards the door and lifted his arms, aiming his palms at it. When the door opened, a teenage boy with reddish-blond hair stepped inside. He jumped in shock when he saw Heavy Metal Jacket. He glanced past the armored man to see Killdozer and Steel-Fist restraining his parents.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Adam, get out of here!" said Steve.

"No, he's not going anywhere," said Heavy Metal Jacket. "Not unless he wants me to fry him to the bone."

"Try it, asshole," said Adam, narrowing his eyes.

"Adam stop!"

"Tough guy, huh?" asked Heavy Metal Jacket. "Y'know, I got my ass kicked in high school by a lot of tough guys like you."

"Why don't you shut up and follow-through with your threat?"

"If you insist," said Heavy Metal Jacket.

"No!" his parents cried out in unison as waves of heat energy erupted from Heavy Metal Jacket's palms. The microwaves engulfed Adam, melting the skin from his body. But Heavy Metal Jacket noticed there was something strange. He dropped the assault and then he saw that the very thing Steve Aaronson was trying to conceal was now standing right in front of him.

"My turn," said the Machine Teen. His arm telescoped forward, slamming hard against Heavy Metal Jacket's head. The Machine Teen leapt upon him, battering the Trinity member with his fists.

"Hey, hold it, kid," said Steel-Fist. "Have you forgotten we've still got your parents? And somehow I doubt they're robots underneath. But it might be fun to find out."

He sent a charge of electricity through Nina's body and she began to convulse.

"Stop, leave her alone!" said Machine Teen.

"Then you do what we say," said Heavy Metal Jacket. "Come with us, and I promise we'll let your parents live."

Adam looked from his mother to his father. His father's eyes stayed locked on him, however, and Adam could tell that they didn't want him to go. Still, he couldn't let them kill his parents. He sighed and got off of Heavy Metal Jacket, allowing the armored man to get to his feet.

"Smart boy," said Killdozer. He left Steve behind and Steel-Fist moved away from Nina. The Iron Trinity surrounded Adam on all sides and he knew he had no choice now.

"So what's the plan?" asked Machine Teen.

"We need you to get us into a SHIELD research and development facility," said Heavy Metal Jacket.

"Why me?" asked Machine Teen. "I've never been associated with SHIELD."

"Who do you think built that thing you've been walking around in?" asked Steel-Fist. "Listen up, kid. Your body was supposed to be the prototype for a killer cyborg."

"...what?" asked Machine Teen.

"You were created based on the X-51 model as a prototype for SHIELD's Deathlok program," said Steel-Fist. "Since you vanished, they've been working on a new prototype. One that's been completed. We need you to get us to that prototype."

NEXT: Uh-oh, the Iron Trinity has Machine Teen and if they get their hands on the Deathlok prototype, look out! Can the New Warriors save their teammate in time? And more importantly, will Scorpion tell them what they need to know? Find out in part three of "Ghost in the Machine"!